Essay On Beta Endorphins

1. Neurons is a basic building block of the nervous system. The sensory nerves carry the message from body tissues to the brain and spinal chord to be processed. The motor neurons are then used to send instructions to the body tissue from the brain and spinal cord. Dendrites, which are connected to the body cell (soma) receive information and pass it through the axon. Myelin sheath covers the axon and helps speed the process. When triggered by a signals from our senses or other neurons, the neuron fires an impulse called the action potential. The resting potential is the neuron’s visual charge of positive

I was given the honor to work for the Neisewander Laboratory with Dr. Janet Neisewander, a behavioral neuroscientist who uses animal models to study mechanisms of drug abuse. I was involved weekly in the neuroscience lab. During this time I learned how to perform self-administration of cocaine on Sprague-Dawley rats. Also, I learned the brain anatomy of a rat, executed brain slices, replicated the DNA, performed jugular vein surgeries and took vaginal smears of female rats to determine menstrual cycles. Before graduating with my Bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, my lab team and I created a poster of our results from our female rats on ovarian hormonal status influencing 5-HT1B receptor agonist effects on self-administration

Feelings of pain, euphoria, and pleasure all can come from the body’s natural pain killers, endorphins. The history of endorphins dates to the 1960’s, when a researcher named Choh Hao Li accidentally discovered them in the pituitary gland. Since they didn’t pertain to his current research, he didn’t study how they work until later. Endorphins were found later at pain receptor sites (also called the opiate receptors) in the brain and linked to being released by the pituitary gland when the body is under extreme stress. (R. David Cole, 1996)

In the northwestern part of Euphoria, you will see that the skies are mostly 100% clear. These towns are near the high-pressure system so you will not be seeing precipitation there. It is a little chilly out with an average temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a good thing that we cannot feel air because this area has a pressure of roughly 1018 millibars on average thanks to the high-pressure system that is in this area. The wind is south and north winds depending where you are in reference to the high-pressure system because it causes air to move clockwise around the system to spread air around. The wind speed is mostly consistent with half of the towns having 10 mile per hour winds and half of the towns getting 15 to 30 mile per hour winds.

In the raphe nucleus and spinal cord, 5-HT1A receptor activation is associated with inhibition of nociception (Bardin, Tarayre, Malfetes, Koek, & Colpaert, 2003; Mico, Berrocoso, Ortega-Alvaro, Gibert-Rahola, & Rojas-Corrales, 2006). Though not yet tested in humans, tests in laboratory animals suggest that certain 5-HT1A agonists rival morphine in their ability to inhibit pain (Colpaert, 2006). Estrogens rapidly downregulate activity in these receptors in the brain in short terms (Mize, Poisner, & Alper, 2001) while long-term low estrogen concentration also decrease 5-HT1A receptor binding in many areas of the brain (Le Saux & Di Paolo, 2005).

The neurotransmitter Substance P is a small peptide that transmits pain signals from the sensory nerves to the central nervous system, also peptides are small chains of amino acids. It has also been associated with the regulation of stress and anxiety. Substance P is thought to contribute to such painful disorders as arthritis and fibromyalgia, it is also found in spinal cord and brain. A neuropeptide are short-chain polypeptides are involved in mediating sensations and emotional responses, such as pleasure, pain, thirst, and hunger. Examples are compounds called endorphins, which are a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system. Endorphins mediate sensations of pleasure, and substance P, which transmits feelings of pain

Opioids are pain relievers that bind to opioid receptors on nerve cells throughout the body. They produce feelings of euphoria, tranquility and sedation. However, opioids are “considered the most harmful of all illicit drugs” (Amato et al., 2005, p.321).

ERα has been shown to be expressed in dynorphin neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and directly modulates dynorphin release, which in turn regulates DORs (Gintzler & Liu, 2012). Dynorphin release is often associated with nociception and has been linked to opioid-induced hyperalgesia (Vanderah, Ossipov, Lai, Malan, & Porreca, 2001). Interestingly, dynorphin and KOR activation is also linked to significant analgesia, particularly in women (Gear et al., 1996). Estrogens upregulate KORs in both intact and ovariectomized female rats in a dose-dependent manner (Lawson, Nag, Thompson, & Mokha, 2010). This apparent contradiction can be explained by spinally synthesized estrogen mediating KOR/MOR heterodimerization in the dorsal horn, which switches dynorphin from being pronociceptive to antinociceptive (N. J. Liu, Chakrabarti, Schnell, Wessendorf, & Gintzler, 2011). In areas outside of the spinal cord, mechanisms involving ERα modulating dynorphin release vary by brain location, and also depend on whether or not ERE-dependent pathways are activated (Gottsch et al., 2009).

Opioids are important for pleasurable experience . If we observe a hedonic spectrum, we sould see, that opioids shift it in positive direction : while sweat tastes seem sweater , bitter tastes and pain seem less aversive. Blocking of opioid-mediated signalling results in decreased pleasantness of rewards. Recent studies have shown, that there is a dissotiation between the way how µ-opioid and κ-opioid – receptor related signalls modulate the perception of pain.( µ and κ come from the name of the first discoverd ligand that attach to this receptors: µ stands for morphine and κ for ketocyclazocine ). The activation of µ-opioid receptors induces

Endogenous opioids are largely involved with the placebo effect, in which a patient expects an improvement in their clinical status, and can result in the reduction of pain without any real treatment. One of the main ideas behind this phenomenon is the concept of expectation, which is a top down regulation of pain.

In vitro: It was found that alpha-endorphin could block the ovalbumin (OA)-specific IgM-PFC response. It seemed that the neuropeptide was capable of blocking the production and secretion of antigen-specific T cell helper factor. Moreover, alpha-endorphin was shown to be able to inhibit the transition of B cells into PFC that usually occured

Central nervous system produces endorphins. Endorphins can release pain by activating brain. Endorphins are produced when we feel happiness such as when we eat, and sleep. Moreover, when we take a hot bath, or after the work out our body produce good amount of endorphins. If we have enough endorphins the body and mental can keep stable and healthy. The interesting fact that I found is marathon runners achieve "runner's high" by producing endorphins. Because they are running long distance body gets tired and endorphins are produced to release those pain. Endorphins also make them feel better, so they can run faster than normal.

Feeling numb is a psychological and physical feeling that causes humans to be deprived of the power of sensation and of internal feelings or responsiveness. Whenever our bodies feel stress or pain, our neurotransmitters communicate with the opiate receptors to reduce our judgment of pain. Receptors are activated when they recognize specific neurotransmitters. Morphine activates a receptor called mu opioid, also known as the opiate receptor. Opiate receptors bind with endogenous receptors, such as endorphins. Endorphins are released in the brain in extremely stressful eventsand by morphineSome people enjoy the natural outcome of endorphins in our body and choose to chemically benumb themselves by injecting or swallowing morphine. Morphine’s

Endorphins and their peptides are made by the central nervous system and the pituitary gland. Endorphins got their name from the word endogenous, which translate to the words ‘from body,’ and ‘morphine.’ Basically, endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers (they also boost pleasure which results in a feeling of well-being, or feeling good). Endorphins are released when we do activities such as eating and exercising. They are also released when they receive signals from the brain when we are in pain and stressed. Endorphins are able to stop pain, or at least make it bearable, because they act on the opiate receptors in our brains.

The endocrine system in the human body stores a chemical known as hormones. Hormones are released by endocrine glands into the bloodstream and travel throughout the body carrying messages. A hormonal impulse is similar to a nerve impulse only much slower. The messages carried by the hormones trigger different behaviors. Hormones can affect behavior in many ways such as: Mental activity or tiredness, boredom or excitement, sexual